More Neocon "Praise" for Rand Paul: He's Not His Father

To say that Rand Paul is a controversial figure is a gross understatement, but critics who confuse the father, Ron, with the son and who write the son off as a fringe figure are missing something.

I don’t agree with him that revenue shouldn’t be part of a grand bargain or that defense (the only area of government that has already seen real cuts) should cough up more, but neither do I hear him trying to mount a filibuster. And I do think that if conservative hawks are going to preserve a responsible level of defense spending, they will need to put forth a sound process for reforming Pentagon appropriations, health care, etc.

I have had in the past grave qualms about Paul’s foreign policy views, but I don’t think all of his views lack merit...

And while I vehemently disagree with the notion that we should eliminate aid to Israel, he is right when he says, “We currently give about $4 billion annually to Israel in foreign aid. But we give about $6 billion to the nations that surround Israel, many of them antagonistic toward the Jewish state. Giving twice as much foreign aid to Israel’s enemies simply does not make sense. Our aid to Israel has always been to a country that has been an unequivocal ally. Our aid to its neighbors has purchased their temporary loyalty at best. These countries are not our true allies and no amount of money will make them so. They are not allies of Israel and I fear one day our money and military arms that we have paid for will be used against Israel.”

My point on these issues is that conservatives should persuade and discuss areas of difference, but it is a mistake to treat Paul as a clone of his father or a man incapable of maturation. And at a time when thoughtful hawks are revisiting issues like aid to Egypt, his views seem, even to those of us who disagree with his general bent, less wacky.

12 comments:

Is it that hard to believe that Rand is telling these Ziocons (Zionist Neocons) what they want to hear? I just have to believe that Rand is smarter than the average bear. Rand is most likely spoon feeding the Ziocon's his own honey.

Oh sure. He's a real smart cookie, that Rand. He has it all figured out.

First he is going to alienate liberty lovers (real ones) by embracing neocons and some of their most sickening views.

Then he's getting the nomination as a reward, and all the neocon supporters will vote him into the white house.

Then, with congress and the senate full of statists, he is going to throw off the mask, say HAHA, GOT YOU and start implementing liberty all on his own, with all those neocon voters (as well as all Democrats) frothing at the mouth calling for impeachment and the tiny number of libertarians (those who chose Ron Paul over anyone else) clapping their hands.

And then he'll change America forever in the short four years he would be allowed to...what?...do as he pleases?

God almighty, you Randroids REALLY need to wake up. HE IS A POLITICIAN and he is simply out for his own career.

So neo-cons show interest in Rand Paul, and that makes Rand more like them? I don't get it. More likely, they're seeing what they WANT to see in Rand. They're picking and choosing his policy positions they think are logical, but ignore positions inconsistent with theirs because they don't want to discover the real Rand. But none of the neo-con chatter changes who he is -- certainly not his father, but definitely one of the most anti-military-state voices in the Senate.

Eh, I guess I'd call that honey. Well, no. She was wishy-washy as hell. I like that one line about maturation. It's hard not to think types like Rubin would not get destroyed in a legitimate discussion or debate with someone among the "immature" limited-government crowd.